Més Que Un Libro
You may remember from my last post it was speculated that Graham Hunter was in love with Barcelona. Now that I’ve read this book I can understand why—14 trophies in 4 years, you can’t argue with that.
Barca: The Making of Greatest Team in the World takes us behind the scenes of one of the most famous soccer teams of all time and shows us how it was created. Reading this book, it is as though you are standing at the water cooler at Camp Nou between the boardroom, changing rooms and gantry.
Barca explores how Johan Cruyff changed the fortunes of the club, the effects of the internal politics between club presidents Joan Laporta and Sandro Rosell and charts Pep Guardiola’s career as one of the most successful managers in recent history.
Hunter’s writing is so descriptive that at times I found it frustrating, in as far as I couldn’t read a page of Barca without noting down something to Google later or look up on YouTube. ‘YouTube Barcelona v Santos 2011’ even made it on to my ‘to do’ list at work one day. His descriptions of plays are so detailed and passionate, it is as though you are watching them yourself. As Xavi Hernández said to him after the Champions League final against Manchester United, ‘Man, I love the way you enjoy your football’.
About half way through the book, there is a chapter on the club presidential election and the structure of the club. This was when the book, for me, became really interesting. The tussle between board members as they fought for the power to install their own ideas at the club whilst still remain faithful to their members was particularly enthralling. Most soccer fans know that Barca is run by its members but this chapter really goes behind the scenes and enhances your knowledge of the processes.
The FC Barcelona youth team in 1999, including Cesc Fabregas (bottom left) and Gerard Pique (top second left)
Other note-worthy chapters are ‘The Breeding Ground’ and ‘The Making of the Greatest Rivalry in the World’.
‘The Breeding Ground’ takes us behind the scenes at the cantera or La Masía. This is the ‘school’ where children are taken and moulded into tactical-thinking machines and where promising youngsters learn to win the right way by respecting their team-mates, opponents and the club. Chelsea, Spurs and various other clubs from around the world have attempted to recreate what Barcelona is doing/has done at these institutes but haven’t managed to achieve the same level of success.
‘The Making of the Greatest Rivalry in the World’ may be read by some as a poke at Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho. But we have to take into consideration Hunter’s bias about this. Jose Mourinho is definitely portrayed in the book as the villain. He is in stark constrast to Pep Guardiola who comes across as the white knight of the football world. But in his instance, I’ll leave it to you to make up your own mind.
So after finishing the book, what have I learnt? Where is the team headed? Well, the main plan seems to be to continue winning the La Liga and Champions League with their own players, using Johan Cruyff’s 4-3-3 formation and style of play at the heart of everything they do. Perhaps the ultimate goal is to one-day win with an entirely Catalonian team. Not as impossible as you may think with the way things are going.
Barca: The Making of Greatest Team in the World by Graham Hunter is a great soccer book. As a journalist, Hunter has covered Barca at all major competitons as well as Spain in the Euro’s and the World Cup so his knowledge of modern day football and the club have translated really well onto these pages. His careful combination of facts and opinion lift the stories off the page. Barca is a sports book that will help you understand how the art of football is created.
My Rating: 4/5